'Negligent, reckless' pilot responsible for Dubai Atlantis helicopter crash: Report

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Negligent, reckless pilot responsible for Dubai Atlantis helicopter crash: Report

Dubai - According to GCAA's report, the pilot performed an "aerobatic" maneuver by turning the aircraft rapidly during the departure.

by

Bernd Debusmann Jr.

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Published: Sun 8 Jan 2017, 10:46 AM

Last updated: Sun 8 Jan 2017, 5:56 PM

The pilot of a helicopter that crashed shortly after taking off from Atlantis, the Palm in 2014 was operating in a "negligent and reckless manner", according to a recently released report from the UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).
The helicopter - an Airbus EC-130 B4 - was departing towards Dubai International Airport on January 22, 2014, when its tail boom or rotor blades struck firefight equipment that was positioned near the airfield, seriously injuring a pilot and helicopter landing officer (HLO). Both men made full recoveries, and tested negative for drugs and alcohol after the incident.
According to the GCAA's 52-page report, the helicopter pilot performed an "aerobatic" maneuver by turning the aircraft rapidly during the departure.
The report notes that such a maneuver is both against GCAA regulations and the EC 130 B4's operating manual.
'The rapid onset of the high speed rotation/yaw rate, combined with the effects of the rotational inertia which forced the pilot and HLO forward, most probably, resulted in spatial disorientation of the pilot," the report notes. Other contributing factors highlighted in the report include "unforced skills based errors by the handling pilot" as well as "poor pilot judgment of the aircraft handling requirements for the intended maneuver".
In the report, the GCAA notes that the objective of the investigation is to prevent accidents and incidents, and not to apportion blame or liability to those involved. The report concluded with 10 safety recommendations to prevent such incidents from taking place in the future.
Of the three recommendations made to Helidubai, the aircraft's operator, is that is should work to establish a safety data collection and processing system and that it update the company's safety management system to "reflect the risk associated with unmonitored pilot behavior that can lead to institutionalized operating patterns and methods which are contradictory to the rules of the air and good airmanship."
Additionally, the company was told to consider enhancing "oversight on a daily basis." The report also suggested that all local tour operators define final approach and landing (FATO) plates, which were not available to the pilot at the time of the incident.
Among the recommendations for the GCAA was that it consider mandating the installation of at least one crash protected flight recorder - such as a flight data recorder or cockpit voice recorder) for all light commercial air transportation aircraft operating in the UAE's airspace.
Furthermore, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) was instructed to provide "adequate guidance on the definition of 'aerobatic flight'".
"Specifically, a maneuver limitation in the flight manual which clearly and unambiguously states that yaw rates have to be controlled within defined margins with a clear warning that excessive intentional induced yaw can lead to pilot disorientation and onset of an uncontrollable flight condition," the report noted.
The EASA was also told to consider the option for a "mandated locking mechanism for crew harness restraints", as in the report suggested that the pilot was not fully restrained in his harness during the incident, leading to his injuries.
bernd@khaleejtimes.com


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